1st section of tunnel under Saigon River to be in place in March

The first section of the Thu Thiem tunnel under Ho Chi Minh City’s Saigon River will be put in place in March this year, its managers told visiting Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung January 2.

Workers at a construction site in Nhon Trach District, Dong Nai Province, where the four sections of the Thu Thiem tunnel under HCMC's Saigon River are being fabricated. The first section is expected to be put in place on March 8. (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Mr. Dung was inspecting a site in Nhon Trach District, Dong Nai Province, where all four sections of the tunnel are being fabricated by Japanese contractor Obayashi Corporation.

The tunnel is a part of the Japanese ODA - funded East-West Highway and links Districts 1 and 2.

Accompanying the minister were city People’s Committee chairman Le Hoang Quan, his deputy Nguyen Thanh Tai, and deputy secretary of the city Party Committee, Nguyen Van Dua.

From January 6 to March 1 the first section’s ability to keep out water would be tested, the managers reported, and if things go smoothly, it would be installed on March 8.

The entire tunnel would be completed in February 2011, they said.

The Thu Thiem Tunnel will be 1.49 kilometers long and have six lanes for traffic, sidewalks, and emergency exits.

It will also have lighting, water supply, and fire prevention systems and air-pollution gauges.

The tunnel will have grade-1 roads allowing vehicles to travel at up to 60 km per hour.